The Princess and The Slayer
by KittyJooce
Summary: Primrose "Ayu" Ayuko has always been surrounded and protected from demon creatures like herself for most of her life. Being already promised to her protector, what would happen if she fell in love with a transfer student who may not be the right for her?
1. Chapter 1

Wow, it's been awhile since I've written something. weird... Anyway, I hope you like this, all my other stories are currently under wrap, but hopefully I start those up again.

Once again, I do not own this series and anything written is pure fiction.

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

"Mistress... mistress... MISTRESS NOT AGAIN!" I could hear my poor butler yell angrily as my feet landed against the soft, damp ground.

"Shoot. I'm already caught, and I haven't even made it past the garden. Maybe I can run..." I sighed bitterly as my feet continued to follow through my already botched plan.

Half-hidden amongst the red rose bushes, I silently tip-toed until I could make out the almost unreal pathway to the main road. A feeling of excitment rushed through my veins as it came closer and closer into view. It almost felt to good to be true-

"Princess! Come out, come out wherever you are!" I could hear **him **say, chuckling as he started running over bushes and the small, running creek behind me.

"Crap!" I screamed and laughed, as the cold sweat of defeat ran down my neck and back.

My footsteps slowly came to a halt, and my body naturally waited for him to pick me up and carry me all the way back to the house. Which did happen, I must say, and not very gently.

"Found you Primrose!" He laughed wholeheartedly, his shoulders shaking as he gently picked me up like a feather in the wind.

"The name's Ayu, and you know it Grimmjow!" I sighed tiredly, wipping my eyes so I could stay awake and **not **fall asleep even though school was about thirty minutes away.

"I know you want to keep that, but you weren't born with it first." He sighed, pushing that electric blue hair that I had known since forever out of his face, so his matching sky-blue eyes could laugh at me.

"Ayuko." He winked at me, making his eyes sparkle for some ungodly reason in the early morning light.

I had to look away, the fear of letting him see my bright red blush with that smug look on his face terrified me. Plus, he was just too much for me to handle in the morning, with his overly-happy emotions since his birthday was soon... Plus the fact he was happy for my birthday as well. The day my parents named me with the most western name of them all...

_Primrose Ayuko_. The name, Ayuko, comes from my mother, while Primrose comes from my father of all people. At school, no one ever calls me Primrose, except Grimm, Ulqui, and my best friend Daiya. Well... Prim comes close, but everyone else calls me Ayu or Ayuko.

It doesn't matter, they know better than to say my full name in front of me...

I think...

* * *

"Ayuko, why must you run this early in the morning?" Ulquiorra sighed angrily, walking back and forth behind my back and trying to clean the kitchen at the same time he was lecturing me.

My head was down, and I tried to avert my eyes away everytime he looked to me. Even after living with the same people for nearly my entire life, I was still unable to look Ulquiorra in the eyes. Especially when he was angry, and not in the best of moods (which was everyday). He had his soft moments, most of them happened when I was younger, but every now and then he would smile.

But other times he was down right scary as hell.

"I'm sorry...I just didn't want to go by car today. Can't I walk like a normal person?" I asked Ulquiorra, looking up to him with my best try at puppy-dog eyes, which never really worked.

"Since when were you normal?" He said to me, ignoring my look, and nearly dropping my heavy schoolbag directly onto my face with no remorse what so ever.

I caught the bag just inches away from crushing my glasses into my eyeballs. A bittersweet sigh passed my lips as the words sunk deep withing myself, that jerkwad. I hate it when he told me that, but it was true... I was and will never be a normal person..

Because a normal person didn't have my kind of blood running through their veins. Like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, I was a demon lost in a world full of humans, and tried my very hardest to stay "normal." But unlike my servants, I also had **human **blood running through my veins, which wasn't a normal thing in the demon world. So to put it bluntly, he was basically saying I could never be normal amongst humans nor amongst demons.

Not that it mattered to demons, because they liked "halfers" like me. Well... they liked my blood.

How did they know I was a halfer? Well, one: my smell is a lot diffrent, because of the sweet scent of human wafting with the spicy scent of demon. And B: If you let me hold any kind of flower in my hands, they will stay bright and fragrant as if it was on a bush. While others like Grimm, it would die instantly for the lack of "warmth" as my mother told me. And since people tended to notice, they have tried coming after me to take my blood and either drink it or sell it at very high costs.

But before that actually happens to me, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were ordered to protect my life until my eighteenth birthday. And on that day, I will wed Grimmjow and everything will fall back into "normalcy..." Maybe.

If the number one enemy besides Class A demons come and decide to kill me. What's worse than a major-ranking demon?

Slayers.

I've never really met a slayer, or at least I don't remember. But from what I was told, _Slayers _were humans who spend their entire lives training just to kill people like me for no apparent reason. Unless there is a reason, but I think it's because of the rumour my father told me as a child. The rumour that a human girl fell in love with a demon, or was it the other way around?

I'm starting a tangent here, and I apologize. Now.. back to my life.

To put it more simply, as long as you did not mess with each other, then the other would not come after you and destroy you. Unless you mess with the wrong kind of person.

"Prim, it's time for school. Please don't be late this time." Ulquiorra scolded and urged at me as he walked behind the door to retrieve my lunch box for the day.

"Please can I walk this time? I will never try to do what I did today ever again!" I jumped out of my chair just as he returned with the still-warm box in his grasp.

I held his gaze with mine, hoping he would realize that I was serious and there was no way I was going to go by car. Yes, I hate to admit it, but I was acting like a child but with Ulquiorra, you kinda had to. As the clock ticked slowly, his gaze started getting weaker and weaker until he had to look away from me. Carefully choosing his words, he sighed in defeat and turned back to me.

"...Fine." He finally said, smiling a crooked smile at me with a sweet look in his eyes for once.

The most hugest grin appeared on my face as his words went through my head. I had won for once! My body started jumping up and down, and took me all the way to the door. Just as I grasped the door handle in my hand, Ulqui shouted to me,

"But Grimmjow must walk with you. And get you after school."

"What? NO." I shouted, turning back to glare evily at him, but he wasn't paying attention to me at all. Instead, he was re-polishing an already polished cabinet without a care in the world.

"Come on midget, it's time for school!" Grimmjow laughed into my ear as he lifted me off the ground and started carrying me out of the door. In his free hand, was my schoolbag, and a pair of gloves sticking from the pockets.

"This doesn't count Ulquiorra! I won't allow it!" I shouted angrily to Ulquiorra, but was staring at Grimmjow obviously so he would put me down.

But as I thought... he ignored me too.

"...Children." I heard Ulquiorra sigh in bittersweetness, and for once, I had to agree with him.

* * *

"Grimm...I'll see you later." I smiled warmly to him as he walked hand-in-hand with me all the way to the outside gate of my school.

"Of course Prim, behave yourself." He winked mischievously to me, as his fan-club awed at our closeness.

What made it even worse, was that he pulled me against his hard chest, and gripped under my chin so I was looking up to him. Without warning, he lightly kissed my lips, making the girls scream blood-murder at the two of us. I pulled away quickly, and glared up to him, arranging him to chuckle lightly at me and his fan-club.

"Kitty got claws." He whispered to me, as sort of a farewell I supposed as he started walking away back home.

He turned back to me, and waited until I caved in a waved goodbye to him from the gate. Grinning slightly, he waved back, turned on his heels, and walked away from my sight. Carefully, I made my way through the gate, when all of a sudden, his fan-club ambushed me and started throwing questions in all directions. Feeling panic rushing through my veins, I tried getting away, but failed as they started surrounding me and letting no escape come to mind. I nearly gave up if a hand hadn't grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the crowd and into safety.

"Man. He knows how to pull a crowd together huh?" My very dearest friend Daiya Mushima laughed nervously, shaking her soft curls into the chilly winter air without breaking a sweat.

"Ha-ha yeah...Thanks Dai." I smiled to her as she and I tried calming ourselves down to the point of just being "chill."

"Well...come on! There's a new student transferring into our class!" She squealed with glee, pulling and tugging me harder as we arrived to the acutal school doors.

"Oh Dai, you're amazing." I laughed as we ran wildly to the lockers and then to our classrooms.

She started telling me everything about who was coming, but I couldn't help myself from gawking at how amazing she was. Daiya "Dai" Mushima was my oldest and closest friend since I moved from my world for safety reasons. Despite finding about what I really was when we were in elementary school, she has kept my secret to herself like she promised. Not that I was worried or anything, but it just proves how much she really does care about me.

And since she found out in second grade, that must mean she cares **a lot.**

And there was how amazingly pretty she was compared to others in the school. Those long, black curls came naturally to her, while to others, it would take hours for them to be perfect like hers. Even though he eyes were plain black, they were a shiny black that seemed to brightened up everytime she was with me.

Oh, plus how she was able to be so calm with others around her. Ever since middle school, she was chosen to be the class represenative each and every year. And with her saying, she made me her vice-captain as I liked to call myself. But that was something that I would've not put with myself.

Since I found humans annoying beyond annoying. Except for Daiya, she's an exception.

"Good morning everyone!" Dai greeted with our class, smiling with such pure giddiness that she seemed to glow like the sun against out dim classroom.

"Morning Daiya. Morning Ayu!" The entire class greeted just as whole-heartedly as Daiya, but not as bright.

"Morning to ya'll as well." I yawned softly, waving my hand in random directions to them. Some of my friends laughed, while others silently waved back to me.

Moving slowly, I barley made it to my seat when our homeroom and algebra teacher came in, Mr. Hakomo. He went to his desk, and like on cue, he waved for Dai and I to come over to him. At first, I banged my head against the desk, but Dai grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the desk with a stern look in her eye. Many people in and out of our class though Mr. Hakomo was the greatest teacher in the world, especially when we were freshman.

Daiya was no exception to thinking he was cool. Me on the other hand, I though he was a creeper.

"Ayuko, Mushima, as you may have heard, we have a new student." Mr. Hakomo told us descretly, leaning in to us with his creepy eyes only looking at me.

I looked away, to see everyone whispering silently to one another. The girls were giggling, while the guys were betting on if the guy was going to take every girl in the class. Shifting my attention back to Hakomo, I saw he was explaining the student to Daiya in a low voice again. How he was acting irritated me, since everyone in the class already knew who was coming, he was still trying to keep it a secret. This was one of the reasons I found humans annoying as hell, but for Daiya's sake, I had to indure it with a plesant grin on my face.

"Well, I was hoping you could make sure he knows what were doing in class. I realize that school is almost over, but help him out the best he can please?"

Hakomo was now grasping his hands together, and looked at the two of us with puppy-eyes. My teeth started griting together, and I bit my tounge so I wouldn't yell,

**"Then you baby him, cause I'm busy."**

But, I shook the urge off with a small smile to him and a gentle look. I refused to speak, because I knew that I would say what I wanted to say. Plus, if Ulquiorra found out, he would hang me upside down for a month with fire underneath me.

"Sure. No problem sir." Dai answered for the both of us, gripping hand so she could make a note that I had to answer as well.

"Excellent! You girls are amazing!" Mr. Hakomo praised us, smiling his usual buisness-man smile with those creepy eyes.

"No worries." I replied finally, pulling Dai away from him so he couldn't take to us anymore.

As we sat down, Daiya glared disapprovingly, but she had a pleased smile on her face, so I could tell she wasn't all that mad at me. Grinning, we laughed together until Mr. Hakomo brought our attention to him.

"Ah-hem...Class..." He said loudly, quieting everyone to the point of an erie silence.

"We have a new transfer student. I realize that the school ends in half a year, but he has already caught up with everything up until now." He continued, as he walked to the door, and peered outside for the student.

While he was out, everyone started frantically talking in whispers, especially to Daiya. She tried her best to answer them but even she was flustered at the time. Ignoring everyone, I turned my attention the lovely winter weather and watched the clouds slowly move through the sky. The door closed, and everyone was hushed just by his presence, even Hakomo was silent at the moment.

"Please tell the class your name." I could hear Hakomo stutter slightly to the boy, who had yet started talking to the class.

Surprisingly, I found myself curious about this guy, but my boredom had a really strong hold on me that day. Until I heard an extremely unfamilar deep voice say to our class,

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. I'm almost seventeen, and I used to live here until about four years ago."

His voice alone brought my attention, but even if I had looked before, his hair would have forced me to stare at the boy. This guy was waaay taller than anyone I knew, besides Grimmjow. He had light sun-kissed skin that seemed to go well with that mass of bright orange hair on top of his head.

Again, I must point out... **Orange. Hair.**

Under that mass of hair, he had gentle brown eyes that looked to me with a passionate glare. A blush grew on my face as he continued to look only at me as he spoke about himself.

"I lived in a small town in the mountain surrounded by a forest for quite some time. So if I do anything crazy, blame the mountain air."

People laughed at his little bit, even I had to laugh softly at his words. But there wsa something about him that made him seem diffrent from others. Maybe it was the bright natural hair, maybe the fact he was a freaking giant compared to our 5"2 teacher. But the aura he emitted, kinda scared me a bit honestly, and he knew that somehow.

"Well...why don't you take the seat right in front of Ayuko...Ayuko? Please stand up." Mr. Hakomo called out to me, smiling at me as if this was what he was talking about earlier.

With a sigh and a sudden urge of confidence, I stood up and stared at him with my eyes until he arrived at his seat. Now that I think about it, he probably thought I was really short compared to him. But there was no way I was going to let him think I was like any normal girl, I was going to stand out in his mind. But obviously, I'm going to smile at him to let him know I wasn't a yankee* or anything, I just won't take crap from him.

He stood for a second, looking at me as I smiled to him, and with a small grin of his own, nodded to me and sat in his seat. As I sat down, I found myself unable to see anything past his broad shoulders that seemed to want to break free from the uniform. Surpessing my laugher, I turned away and tried to think of something else until class was over. Yet, I still couldn't help myself from thinking about the stange boy in front of me, and from time to time, I caught myself looking at those broad shoulders again.

"...Interesting." I laughed quietly, turning my attention away for the third time and watched the gray clouds move across the sky lazily again.

* * *

_Well... that's it for now, and I hoped you liked it. What's with this new boy in school, is he good or is he bad?  
And does he have something she shouldn't know yet?  
Wait and see!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Ichigo's POV~**

When I got to school that morning, everything seemed so nostaligic to me... in a good way. Even waking up to my dad's warrior cry made me a little bit happier than normal. After being home away for five years really makes you glad to be back.

I didn't even take one step through the school without sensing the presence of a demon close by me. That sent shivers and goosebumps against my spine, in a terrible way. My eyes glanced back and forth, but then something small and smiling jumped against my back.

"Ichigo! You're back!" She exclaimed into my ear, her hands grasping my shirt so she wouldn't fall to the floor.

With a little help from me, she was able to clench her hands together around my neck. Deciding to mess with her, I spun around in a circle until she kicked me behind the knee. Before I fell to the floor, she jumped off into someone's waiting arms and laughed at me.

"That's what you get!" She shouted, sticking out her tounge to me as I felt myself fall faceforward with a _"thud."_

Angrily, I got to my knees and started to get up with a slight headache forming. But thankfully, a slender hand came into view, as auburn hair flew right into my face. Grinning, I grasped her gentle hand, and felt her squeeze back in joy.

"Wow, you're alot taller than before." The second girl gasped happily, as she helped me back up with enthusiasm in her golden eyes.

"Glad to see you're alive. Thought they had killed you by now." My best friend snickered at me with a "welcome back" pat to the back.

"...Nice to see you again." The tallest guy amongst us said, half-smiling and half-hiding behind the bubbly girls I called friends.

"Hey Rukia, Orihime, Renji...Chad." I laughed to the monotone boy, holding my hand out for our normal greeting procedure.

He smiled for real this time, and grasped my hand tightly in a manly handshake. Rukia pulled out her beaten up notebook and flipped through it until she found something. Then, when Chad's back was turned, she revealed what should've been a bunny like creature and grinned.

"Am I any better?" She questioned me, her big dark blue eyes desperately waiting for my honest opinion.

"Kind of...but they still look kinda childish." I honestly said _(hey, I was honest), _but she took it offensively and hit the side of my head with the notebook.

"Ichigo you jerk!" She cried as she ran to the girls bathroom without a backwards glance towards us.

"Ichigo! Oh...Rukia wait!" Orihime scolded and sighed as she rushed to Rukia to console with her.

"Ya know she was all excited to show you. Could've been a bit nicer after being away for five years." Renji sighed heavily, scratching the back of his neck as we listened to the soft sobbing of his girlfriend.

Chad nodded whole heartedly, but stayed silent the entire time. That awkward silence between the three of us made me realize that for once, Renji was right. Damn you Chad, you're silence really kills me sometimes you know?"

"Guess I should apologize later huh?" I smirked, which relieved us of the awkward unsteady silence between us.

"Welcome back Kurosaki." A cool and calm voice greeted to me, even though it sent a shiver down my spine.

"Ishida! You look good. So I guess you made it?" I joked with the tall, frail-looking boy who went and became my number one rival in training camp.

"Obviously. I'm not an idiot." He retorted back, walking past us and smirking that annoying snooty grin at us.

"Glad to see you're normal." I sighed angrily, and was about to slap his arm, when a tiny teacher came out of nowhere.

"Ah, Ichigo Kurosaki no?" He said to me, his eyes running up and down my bpdy without missing a beat.

I felt myself shiver again, and a small gulp got caught in my throat. I wasn't afraid, but this guy gave me the heebie-geebies if you know what I mean. Something about him made me think he was that type who could go both ways.

"Yeah, your Mr. Hakomo no?"

"Yes, I hope you and I can get along this year. Will you come this way?" He asked me, pointing his finger towards the hallway.

"Sure... see ya guys later then." I sighed tiredly, waving my wrist to them with my back against them.

* * *

I followed Mr. Hakomo all the way to the classrooms that started with "One" in them. Somehow, my grades were amazing, so I was sent to the smart people classes while my friends got into the "Two" classes. I wasn't mad at them, but I was kinda angry at myself for actually giving a crap about school.

"Kurosaki, if you would please wait a moment." Mr. Hakomo asked me as we stood outside the classroom.

I looked down at him, and then the classroom door. How long were we standing there in silence? Was he just staring at me the whole time? Creeper...

"No rush." I told him with my best smile, which thankfully was enough for him to leave me.

After he left, I let out a breath I was holding in for the longest time. Why, you may ask? One, the cologne Hakomo was wearing really bothered my allergies. And second, the presence from earlier was much closer and heavier than before. Yet somehow, I couldn't pinpoint where it wwas.

"Where are you?" I asked myself again, the anger of waiting five minutes finally getting the best of me.

"Please help him just for a little while?" I overheard Hakomo plead loudly, the sound of hands clapping together following right after him.

Curiousity got the best of me, so ever so sneakily, I peered into the classroom. Hakomo was half-begging, half-talking to two girls standing in front of his desk. These girls seemed to stand out against everyone else... well, besides me in a way.

The tallest of the two was very slim, not too thick, but not too skinny. She had long, black curls that rolled down past her shoulders. A friendly grin was on her face, lightening up her shiny, black eyes as she answered Hakomo. She was very pretty, but she was also normal looking, so I gave her an eight out of ten.

...Hey. Guys get bored easily, don't judge me.

When I turned to the second girl, I hadn't realized she was half listening to the conversation. She turned towards me, but I escaped her glance in the last second. I wished I got a better glance of her, but that little glimpse took my breath away.

She had baby blue eyes that glistened in the early morning clouds. Short, red hair that contrasted so well against her eyes moved everytime she turned her head to sigh at Hakomo's words.

"Whoa..." I smiled to myself, as my legs took me down to the ground and I just sat there for the time being.

Why was such a pretty girl here in this school? She seemed so out of place, it wasn't even funny how distant she was from others.

"Ichigo...you can come in." Hakomo called from the doorway, a gently expression all over his face.

With a heavy sigh, I entered a silent class, all their eyes fixated on me and me alone. When I glanced to the side, I saw the cutie from earlier, and paused. She wasn't even looking at me, she was staring out the window with a bored expression on her face.

_"This'll get her to see me."_ I laughed in my head menically, clearing my throat before carefully choosing my words to say.

Then I made a loud anouncment, that made everyone's eyes pop in awe. Even she had to look, then her eyes dialated a tiny bit too. She wore a blush on her cheeks as I continued to stare towards her as I spoke.

When I finished, I smiled softly, earning small squeals of **moe** from the girls in the class. An even brighter blush grew on her face, and she turned away and stared back into the window. I turned to Hakomo, and waited as he chose a spot for me to sit.

"Ayuko...please stand up."

The same blue-eyed girl stood up, and held her head up high. Compared to me, she was barley to my chest...not even to my shoulders. I could tell her blush was gone, but now was replaced by an overpowering amount of confidence in her.

She smiled at me when I came near, which I replied with a nod. As I sat down, I heard her chuckle soflty for some reason.

Why did she laugh? Was I funny to her?

... Look at me. I haven't even been back to school for an hour, and I'm already freaking out about how people think of me. Cool man, real cool. REalizing how ridiculous I was acting, I laughed myself and glanced back to see her one last time. She was grinning to herself, a tan hand under her chin as she occupied her time with looking out the window.

Maybe things won't be so bad after all...

* * *

A few days went by without a problem yet, which was a good sign. I noticed that Ayuko girl was in nearly all my classes, and so was Mushima besides English and my last class. But besides that, my attention was always fixated on Ayuko.

And whose gaze wouldn't follow her? She stood out with that fire-red hair of her, and her even more sparkly blue eyes. The fact that she never really smiled except for when she was with Mushima made her even more mysterious.

Well, maybe not mysterious, more like she didn't want to be around people really badly. Which brought me to my next question:

_What's the deal with her and people?_

"So Kurosaki? Where'd you go for four years?" This tiny girl asked me during class one, paticular day.

It was English, and everyone was supposed to work on this poem all period. But, since our teacher said we could have a partner, nearly everyone in the class was messing around. Except Ayuko, she was working diligently like some other kids in the class.

"Oh, I lived in the country for awhile. You know, Kyushu...or somewhere near that." I said semi-truthfully, smirking a bit for an added touch.

Honestly, I wanted to get through this poem so I could relax, but these guys were just annoying today. Some girls out of nowhere laughed in idiocracy, and they guys were awing at me in amazement. I had barley glance over to Ayuko, when she started giggling under her breath as well.

_"What was so funny?_" I asked myself, half-confused and half-hurt at how she was laughing at the exact moment they were.

"Hey, you guys get this poem? It doesn't make sense, "_Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-"? _What the hell does that mean?" One of the boys, Keigo, asked in annoyance, and slammed the paper down with a thud.

I looked back to the paper, and scowled bitterly to it. Even I, who had one of the highest grades in English, was confused on this paper.

"Why don't you go ask Ayu. She might know." The questioning girl from earlier said with a small hint of fustration under her breath.

"Ayuko? For real? She scares the living crap out of me."

"Only because the first time you spoke to her, you tried to be creepy to her and she punched you square in the face." The girl said out loud, earning some whistles and burn remarks from those around her.

"Honestly, that's why she glares at you, so don't be a weirdo next time. She's still a girl, no matter how she acts."

I lost my voice when that girl, I think it was Hinamori, spoke above everyone else. She looked to timid, and yet, when Keigo started talking bad about Ayuko, she stood up for her. Glancing back to Ayu, she was grinning in a bit of glee even though her headphones were in.

Brownie points for Hinamori.

"I'm going to ask her." I finally said, standing up and scratching the desk against the floor so everyone knew I wasn't coming back.

Something in the back of my head told me they were watching me, but that didn't really matter to me. Biting my lips, I was about to speak outloud, when I heard the sound of drums emitting from Ayuko's headphones. I stopped, perplexed at how loud her music was, and how she was still working like a mad man. But, letting go of that, I cleared my throat, and gently tapped her shoulder.

She turned back to look at me, her blue eyes confused at the touch of my hands. She then went to a look of irritation, and didn't even hide the sigh of vexation.

"Yes?" She asked me, her voice still soft as satin while pushing that bright red hair of hers out of her eyes.

"Um... could you help me out? I realize we haven't really spoken to each other, but I don't get this at all."

"What about your friends over there?" She asked me bitterly, pointing her head towards my so-called friends from earlier.

"They're not the smartest people here, and you're actually doing your work... so?" My voice came out softly, my hands clenching my paper tightly, and hoping she would say yes.

She looked at me, to the people, and then back to me. A change of emotions came over her, from confusion, to fustration, to a somewhat sympathetic look. Sighing yet again, she removed her headphones, wrapped them in a small bundle, and placed them bcak into her backpack. She then turned back to me, and look up to me with a apologetic look in her eyes.

"I... don't see why not. Sometimes it is a lot easier when you work with someone. Pull up a chair, Kurosaki." She smiled honestly, gesturing with her hands to the nearby chair.

I couldn't help to gawk at how innocent and childish-looking she actually was up close. Those eyes seemed much larger when she was smiling, and her voice was a lot higher than I realized.

"Um... sure, thanks a lot." I laughed, reaching backwards to pull the chair closer to her as she scooted a little closer to me.

Okay... so far so good. Let's hope I won't mess things up anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**~Ayuko's POV~**

After laughing at the new kid, I kinda felt a bit nervous, since he stood out more than I did. So, I thought to myself,

"_**Why not see if he's different?"**_

And like... why would he be different? He doesn't know who I am, and he seems real nice.

So I had everything planned: I was going to say something to him right after Mr. Hakomo stopped talking. Maybe things would go my way for once...

**WRONG.**

Just as Hakomo stopped the bell rang. In an instant, nearly my entire class ran to get close to the transfer boy, and pushed me out of the way. _Literally_. This girl came out of nowhere, and pushed me right out of the circle. If my friend hadn't been next to me, my face would have touched the floor.

"Ayu, you alright?" He questioned me, gently grasping my arm until I got my balance back together.

"Yeah, thanks Shinji."

"Prim!" Dai called out to me as Shinji turned deaf ear to the sound of her using my real name.

I smiled to her, but my eyes glared bitterly towards the fact she used my name. Either she ignored me or she hadn't realized she said my name out loud. Sometimes she would do that, and today probably wasn't an exception.

"I'm alright, thanks to Shinji." I said outloud, but he was already on the other side of the class, sulking away with some of his friends while everyone else gathered around the transfer kid.

"What in the world happened to you? You look funny."

"Shut up and fix my hair."

She giggled and started pushing down my hair, while the girl from earlier kept talking to the transfer student like nothing happened. From the corner of my eye, I kinda though he was trying to ask me something, but the snobby girl was getting in his way.

"Ergh... why did I even try?"

"What's that sweetheart?"

"Nothing..."

* * *

"Relax sweetheart...You're gonna make something explode." Daiya tried joking with me, but it didn't phase me at all.

It had been about three days since the new kid transfered into our class. And for some ungodly reason, everyone had tried either sitting or standing near/next to the new kid at all times. My favorite classes turned into a living nightmare now and for the rest of the year.

"I'm just annoyed by these stupid humans! He's new, big deal!" I screamed into my lunchbox one day, while sitting outside underneath an olive tree.

Daiya smiled and silently ate her lunch while I fumed away in the sunny yet chilly afternoon. It was quite peaceful despite being the day before the weekend. That guy, Ichigo Kurosaki, was nowhere near us, but the idea and thoughts of those around the two of us was unbearable.

And honestly...I had no idea why.

"Ayu..." Dai pleaded with me, her black baby eyes looking at me with concern and confusion.

"Sorry...but you aren't forced to hear all these thoughts..."

"And trust me...they're pretty weird." I sighed sadly, shoving a large piece of sweet bread into my mouth angrily.

Again, a small smile grew on Daiya's face, but this time, it wasn't laughter. It was a sympathetic one, and that erked me the wrong way.

"I know, but relax. He might actually be nice!" She tried explaining to me, and somehow, it actually worked this time.

"True...you're amazing!" I laughed, grasping her hand just as the bell rang for our fifth period class.

I jumped off the ground and started doing a happy dance in my spot. No one knew this but Daiya; I loved the last two periods of the day. Not only did it mean going home soon, but it also meant going to my most favorite class of all:

English.

"Yesh! English!" I squealed like a child, throwing back my red hair into the now cloudy air above us.

Dai laughed uncontrollably as she grabbed my hand to lead me to our English Department. It kinda sucked as well, since Daiya had another class, but she knew I would miss her. So, right before she left, she pulled me into a very rare hug, and held me there until I hugged her back.

"See ya Ayu!" She laughed as she let me go in the most awkwardest way possible: With a small peck to my cheek.

"Later Dais'!" I laughed nervously, but the idea of English cheered me up and made me forget about Daiya and her silliness.

With a small pep in my step, I allowed my feet to glide all the way up the stairs to my classroom. I nearly pulled off a Daiya-moment if I hadn't heard the fake laughter coming from our class. My head peered in to see Kurosaki already surrounded by my classmates while my teacher tried to settle everyone down.

"Awrgh." I cried, thumping my palm against my head as my cheery emotions were swept away with the sudden feeling of annoyance.

* * *

"Okay class, if you need any help, just let me know." Ms. Unohana said peacefully to out class, and then swiftly went behind her desk to finish some work.

Today, our class was doing a poetry log, which was the easiest thing any person (_especially a demon like me_) could possibly do. And the poem was slightly hard, which made it a hundred times better. Giddiness swept across my face as I got out my Ipod for this purpose.

No one besides me and a few others were actually working on the log. The others were baracading Kurosaki and asking him all sorts of questions like:

"Where did you go for four years?" This girl, Hinamori, asked Kurosaki, who pretended to think for a moment until answering.

"Oh I lived in the country for awhile. You know... Kyushu... or somewhere near that." He laughed calmly, with a small smile just to add a little touch of friendliness.

Everyone around him oohed and awed so much, that I couldn't help but laugh at how idiotic they were. Opening my eyes, I caught Kurosaki's gaze, which were mixed with hurt and confusion. Feeling my cheeks starting to burn, I pulled away, and tried rubbing the heat away.

"**ARGH**. This doesn't make any sense to me." A boy, Keigo Asano, cried out quietly while slamming his fists against the desk.

I bore my eyes to him, who twitched as he finally realized what I was doing. He turned away, making me laugh at how he was so pathetic even after I punched him square in the nose freshman year.

"Why not go and ask Ayuko?" That Hinamori girl suggested, with a bit of acid spilling towards Keigo as he glanced towards me again.

I scoffed at him, and started undoing my headphones while he made a dirty face at me. He made a snide remark about me, which I ignored at first. But then I heard him say,

"Ayuko? For real? She scares the living crap outta me."

My face burned with anger, and I felt the urge to jump across my desk and slap that smug look off his face. Those wings of mine nearly flew open if Hinamori's voice hadn't spoken out before mine.

"Only because the first time you spoke to her, you tried to be creepy to her and she punched you square in the face."

I stopped, and everyone else ceased to breath besides Keigo and I. His face turned bright red as people started whistling and making burn remarks against him for once.

"Honestly, that's why she glares at you, so don't be a weirdo next time. She's still a girl, no matter how she acts."

She glanced to me, the look of hope lingering in those gentle eyes of hers. A smile of graditude formed on my face, and she smiled back to me in our silent conversation. For once, I was glad they were talking about me.

I'm not bad, I'm just socially awkward. And Hinamori knows that just as well as Daiya.

Still smiling, I put my headphones into my ears and was barley done with my first song when a soft yet sharp tap brought me back to earth. I looked up, ready to go up against whoever was bothering me. Turns out it was Kurosaki, and it looked like he wasn't going to leave without an answer. Those warm-looking brown eyes bore down into mine as he patiently waited for a response from me.

"Yes?" I asked kinda coldly but hey... he was bugging me in my precious time of poetry and music.

"Um... could you help me out? I realize we haven't really spoken to each other, but I don't get this at all." He asked me, his fingers twidling against the paper as his eyes gazed at my entire being.

"What about you friends over there?" I said coldly again, thrusting my head towards his "_friends_", who had stopped talking and were watching us.

"They're not the smartest people here and you're actually doing your work." Kurosaki stuttered a bit, those long, slender fingers grasping against the paper even tighter.

"So?"

My eyes couldn't believe what I was just witnessing at the time. A human boy, blushing a bit around his cheeks, and begging for help. In all honesty, it was the cutest thing I had ever seen in real life. Glancing past him for a second, I saw his friends had long forgotten him and his problems. Looking back, those eyes were still watching me, like a hawk and it's prey. Caving in at last, I silently took out my headphones and put them in my backpack.

"I... don't see why now? Sometimes it is a lot easier when you work with someone. Pull up a chair, Kurosaki." I smiled softly, gesturing to a nearby chair with my free hand.

His eyes continued to gawk at me without even realizing it hopefully. Then, a tiny smile broke on his face as he reached backwards for the chair.

"Um... sure, thanks a lot." He chuckled, as I scooted in closer to him for better view of his work.

"No problem. By the way, my name is Ayuko." I heard myself say, but then my voice got caught in my throat.

"Well, it's Primrose Ayuko. But everyone calls me Ayuko or Ayu."

Kurosaki stopped writing on the paper, and glanced up to me. It took me a minute, but I finally realized what I just said, which was something totally out of character. Even those around me noticed that I wasn't being myself at the moment.

"Ergh... sorry, it's a force of habit. You-"

"Primrose Ayuko huh?" He said out loud, rolling the "Rose" part off the tip of his tounge for a long while.

People around us, including his friends watched in amazement as he mumbled my name a few more times. No one... and I mean **NO ONE** ever called me by my first name except Daiya. Not even the teachers used my name since I had asked them not to.

"How... pretty." He laughed, grinning like a five-year old while his back was to everyone's view of him.

My eyes couldn't help but watch as he laughed with the hugest smile on his face since he had arrived at this school. After a minute, he finally realized what he was doing, and covered his face from my view. Then, shaking his head for a minute, he pointed at our papers with his pencil impatiently.

"Oh I'm sorry! Now um... about this poem?" Kurosaki sheepishly asked me, a hint of red growing on his face again.

For a moment, every muscle in me tensed up a bit, unsure of what I should do. But then, this fuzzy feeling started growing inside the pit of my stomach. And slowly, a smile formed on my face, and then giggles started escaping from me.

He watched in pure amazement as tears started rolling down my cheeks as those giggles turned into chuckles now.

"_Ha-ha_! Oh Kurosaki, you're so funny!" I laughed out loud by accident, which made Ms. Unohana shush me with her hands.

I stopped and clasped my hands against my lips and face. My eyes drifted back and forth from the chalk board to Kurosaki's face, which was set like stone. Breathing in, I was about to speak, when he grinned again and-

"_Aha-ha-ha-ha_!" He laughed over and over, tumping his knuckles against the desktop in beat to his laughter.

Blinking uncontrollably, I too started laughing along with him again, hiding my face and wiping away stray tears. I don't know how long we laughed, but finally Ms. Unohana got up from her desk, and tapped my shoulder.

" Ms. Primrose... Please refrain from anymore laughter until you are outside my classroom okay?" She said in her angelic voice, but the aura around her was far from angelic... more like demonic.

Both of us gulped in a huge breath, and nodded whole-heartedly until she turned her back to us. Then, sighing at the same time, Kurosaki looked up to me, and grinned a bit again.

"Sorry." He said, shaking his head to clear the smile off his face finally.

"No worries... now, can we please work on our poem?" I answered back, pointing to our long-forgotten papers.

"Yeah, alright. Lead the way Ayu." Kurosaki chuckled softly, patting my head like I was a newly-born pup.

My body instantly cringed under this unnatural feeling on the top of my head. But, almost without delay, I felt relaxed under his hand. It was huge, but even so, it had a soft touch that was like... a feather... almost.

* * *

For the rest of the period, we worked together in almost perfect harmony. Well... in reality, he was just agreeing to basically everything I said, but he did have some input. Nearly everytime I spoke, he praised me, which sent a wave of giddiness inside my chest.

After one last pat to my head, the bell rang, and everyone barged out of the classroom. Kurosaki... no. Ichigo (_that's better_), and I were one of the few people still lingering in our class.

"Ayu," Ichigo (_gah)_ said to me just as I reached the class door, reaching out to grab my wrist.

"Could you... wait for me outside please?"

My eyes dialated a bit, and felt unnaturally wide at the time. This guy, Ichigo Kurosaki, had asked me to wait for him so bluntly that people walking near us kinda gasped in surprise.

Wordlessly, I nodded, and proceeded to my usual spot outside the english building. It had not even been two minutes when Ichigo came running outside and stood in front of me. Him being so tall, I had to look up to his face and felt my head tilt to the side in confusion.

"Um well... this is totally too fast but... hold out your hand."

I felt my face burn, but I ignored it and held out my hand. He hesitated for a moment, but then went rummaging through his pockets till he came across something. Those large hands gently placed something in my palm, and carefully closed my hands for me.

"Kuro... Ichigo?" I whispered, which made him look down at me with a hint of shock and gladness in his eyes.

"It's nothing... well it is but it's something that I thought would suit you-"

"Ichigo! Let's go!" We heard his friends exclaim, one of them waving their arms in the air kinda like a monkey.

He turned away and started walking fast to them without a proper farewell. But then midway, he stopped and grinned back to me, mouthing

"See ya around, and thanks for everything!"

I waved back, and waited until he was by the crosswalk, twenty feet away from me. Then, suspiciously, I opened my hands, and gasped in shock. It was a golden pin, with a blue flower in the center blooming so realistically I thought I could pluck it off.

I did not want to admit it at first, but this pin... was gorgeous.

Knowing people had watched our little episode, I waited a bit before placing the pin on the rim of my collar. It shone in the late afternoon, sparkling a bit before just coming to a little shine.

"How sweet... for a human." I laughed to myself, my face burning just as bright as my hair Daiya would tell me later.

Then, just as Dai came up, I gaily skipped to her and landed on my two feet right before her. She gave me a dirty look, but brushed it off for later and walked ahead of me while I twirled around in my own little world.

* * *

_Well, I hope you guys liked it. Sorry, I know I haven't updated it in a loong while, but... I'm a busy woman _  
Leave some reviews please!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, I hope you enjoy this chapter :D  
I don't own the series or the characters besides the ones I make up...  
That's how the world works, enjoy.**

* * *

**Ichigo's POV**

When I worked with Ayu, I felt utterly beaten against her. Not physically, but how she spoke to me was so formal and smart sounding. It seemed so... unnatural. I mean... this blue-eyed devil was too much, in a good way.

"Well, if you think about it...it doesn't really have to be a _"literal"_ choir. It could be something like a _"choir of angels". _You get me Kurosaki?"

I felt my eyes blink a few times before returning my attention to Ayu. It felt like she was speaking a mile a minute,  
not breathing at all once she started talking. But at this moment, she was quiet, and her eyes were trying to understand me.

"Um... Kurosaki? You okay? Am I going to fast? I knew only Dai could handle me..." She questioned me, and then sighed defeatedly to herself like she was disappointed with herself.

"Ah um... Sorry Ayu. It's just... that totally makes sense in a way." I finally replied, my eyes never leaving her gaze for a second.

She blinked a few times, before beaming up to me like a small child again. A gleam of happiness  
escaped her eyes as she wiped away pretend sweat from herself.

"Really? Wow, thanks..." Ayu giggle girlishy, rubbing her cheeks in a habital way that was too adorable for words.

My throat caught itself again as she looked away for a moment. How could this girl, who everyone had told me was scary, be this captivating and withdrawn at the same time...? It didn't make sense to me at all.

"Only Daiya has ever told me something like that."

"Who's Daiya?" I asked her curiously, even though I knew quite well who she was because my friends had told me earlier that week.

"Oh, she's my closest friend since like..." She started saying, but then stopped and started counting her fingers... almost like a four-year old adding.

"Since about kindergarten."

"Wow, that's really long. How's that even possible?" I whistled softly, scratching my neck in pure amazement.

"I'm not so sure myself. For a while... I didn't even call her my friend." Ayu sighed sadly, as if this was something painful to talk about.

"For real? But I've noticed you guys were really close. Did something happen?"

"Hmm? Oh no... it's just... I was unsociable when I was a child." She laughed bittersweetly at the very mention of the word, _unsociable._

It grew quiet between us, I wasn't sure if I should speak or let her finish. It was true, she did look a bit withdrawn from others, but from that age? I had never heard a _kindergartner _being _unsociable._

"I didn't like being around people for awhile because of... my name. Everyone made fun of it, even the teacher joked alot with it."

Again, silence built around us like an invisible barrier. I wanted to stop and hug her close until she started crying or something. The expression of pain on her face reminded me of... _**me...**_

"But after a school project, I started warming up to her. What made me worry the most though was my brother-"

"Brother?" I questioned her abruptly, looking up to her from the poetry paper.

She looked away from me, and stifled a giggle behind her hand. After a second, Ayu glanced  
to me with a look of how you say... embarrassment.

"Well, he's not really my brother but trust me... you don't wanna meet him." She sighed/shivered at  
the very thought of her brother.

"Why not? He can't be that bad. You should see my dad, especially in the mornings. He's such  
a maniac when it comes to waking me up." I joked with her, hoping that she would crack a smile and relax.

She smiled a small crooked smile and nodded her head. But she still wasn't relaxed one bit,  
even after trying to be friendly. I guess her brother must be something else... or maybe she's still freaking about how social she was acting.

"Well... he just... treats me how you say... diffrently."

"How so?"

"..."

Once more, as if on cue, she turned her gaze away from me. This time, there was an added blush to  
her face that matched her fire-red hair. _So... I'm guessing what he does is not family-oriented?_

"Ergh... you don't have to tell me. My bad, I'm such a nosy person." I sighed, ruffling her  
head again so that she would snap out of her little phase.

She stiffened under my touch again, but I couldn't help myself. Her head was soft, and it felt  
nice under my fingers. She bit her lips as a small, pink blush grew on her face without warning.

I pulled away, smiled at her, and let out a soft chuckle from the back of my throat. She looked at me as if  
I was crazy, but she still giggled behind her hand.

"Now... let's get to work." I stated, while she nodded silently and went straight into the poem work.

* * *

All that period, we worked in a near harmonious pace that was too good to be true. Everytime she spoke, I couldn't help but praise whole-heartedly to her. And everytime I did, Ayu's face beamed up and her cheeks became this rosey-pink color.

The bell rang and everyone raced out the class besides Ayu and I. She was smiling as she put all her things into her backpack. I had thrown the last book when I called out to her in a loud voice.

"Ayu," I gasped as I reached out and caught her wrist while she was standing in the doorway.

"Could you... wait for me outside?"

Ayu's eyes grew big for a second, even bigger than when she saw me the very first time in the classroom. But even so, she silently nodded and clenched her hand, indicating I should let her go. As she walked away, I pulled out my most treasured item since my mother passed away all those years ago. It was a pin... but it wasn't your ordinary pin.

It was a... golden pin with a blue flower in the center. But not just any blue flower... a _blue primrose. _

Cheesy right? Well, at the time, I had this urge to give it to her. My mother did say I could give it to any girl I wanted to so... Maybe I just...wanted her to not be to withdrawn from me anymore... maybe this was the key I was looking for.

Running down and nearly slipping off the stairs, I found Ayu waiting patiently outside the English Department. As I reached her, she looked up to me and tilted her head like a very confused puppy.

"Um well this is very fast but... hold out your hand." I whispered firecely to her, as if a second went by, I was going to run away like a fox.

How I spoke to her, it seemed something she wasn't used to at all. At the sound of my voice, she blushed bright red, but still she opened her palms to me. One glance from those blue eyes indicated she was ready for me. Hesitantly, I managed to pull out the pin without showing it to her and slowly placed it in her hands. Then, as gently as possible, I grasped her fingers and carefully managed them around the pin.

"Kuro... Ichigo?" She whispered, making me stop and look at her again with shock and a bit of giddiness in me.

_She used my name... holy crap she actually used my name._

"It's nothing... well it is but it's something that I thought would suit you-"

"Ichigo! Let's go!" I heard Renji shout as Rukia jumped up and down behind him like a monkey in heat.

I turned away and started rushing to them without saying a goodbye to Ayu. But midway, I caught myself, stopped, and grinned as my back was turned to my friends.

"See ya around, and thanks for everything!" I mouthed to her, who waved to me with a small smile on her face.

Whipping back to see her one more time, I watched her open her hands and gasp. She gingerly picked up the pin, and looking at each side, pinned it at the collar of her shirt. Words left her lips,and a smile was on her facesd she spoke to herself. A moment later, that Daiya girl showed up and Ayu jumped right in front of her in a childish way. Knowing she was going to be fine, I finally turned my attention to my friends who had already crossed the street without me.

"Who was that?" Orihime asked me, her hands shaking a bit from the sudden gust of chilly wind.

"Wasn't that Ayuko? She's always with that Daiya Mushima girl from 1-A right?" Rukia commented, walking hand-in-hand with Renji.

"Yeah you're right! Man, when she's not silent, she can be really cool. Especially when she plays soccer _oh wow_ it's incredible!" Renji gushed like a school girl who was talking about her major crush or something.

"She's your Class Rep no Ichi?"

"Huh?" I mumbled, barley missing a puddle of murky water by an inch or so.

"Ooohh! Does the little slayer boy have a crush on his Class Rep?" Rukia sang annoyingly, which made  
Orihime and Renji laugh and sing along with her.

"Can it you guys."

"But isn't her brother scary? I've seen him, and he has blue hair and tattoos!" Orihime whimpered at the very image in her head.

"Orihime.. I was there, and he only had **one **tattoo on his stomach. And I'm pretty sure his hair is natual, just like Ichi's."

She started getting all ga-ga about the memory while Renji wasn't looking. But sadly for her, she was caught, and Renji thumped the back of her head.

"Hey."

We all started laughing, and made it to our class in one piece. Just as I took one step in, a breeze went past me, and the scent of a demon came to my nose. A sadistic grin appeared on my face as I quickly memorized the scent before class.

"Found it... finally." I laughed coldly, as I walked back into the class like nothing happened.

* * *

Right after class, I expected to run home, take off all my clothes and fall into a nice slumber till tomorrow. What happened, was Renji took me to watch his soccer practice and we _"accidently" _ran into Ayu and Daiya.

"Ichigo!" Ayu exclaimed in glee as she recognized me the moment I passed her.

A smile formed on my face too as she looked positively happy to see me for once. Since the beginning of my enrollment, she always had this terrible scowl on her face when I saw her. But now, she was smiling and acting cheereful as well. This must've been odd, because both Daiya and Renji looked at her with confusion. She totally ignored them, or maybe she was in such a good mood, she didn't see what was occuring.

"Hey Ayuko, on your way home?"

"Yeah, me and Dais' were gonna take a walk before heading to my house." She giggled innocently, making  
both me and Renji blush at her cuteness.

"Sounds like something I could enjoy."

"Well then, you can have her." Auy's friend laughed, pushing her into my arms without a warning to either of us.

Ayu's thin body crashed into me, sending a wave of shock throughout my body. She looked up to me from  
my chest, and even though she had a scarf on, I could see the peak of clevage peeking from her thin blue sweater.

"Daiya!" Ayu exclaimed, pushing herself up from my body in a flurried movement of arms and her head.

"I forgot to mention I have to go to the store first, but I'll be at your house tonight. Promise!" Daiya laughed as she ran past us, but not before winking to me nonchalanlty.

"Well... have fun you two." Renji snickered as he too walked past us with a nonchalant wink to me.

It was silent between us again, but this time, she didn't seem tense. In fact, she was breathing and groaning angrily like any normal girl would.

"I'm sorry Ichigo." She said, using my name again without even realizing it I supposed.

"No worries, I should be the one to apologize."

"Eh well... anyway you don't have to walk with me-"

"But I want to!' I said a little too loudly, earning that cute look of confusion on her face.

"Oh. Well... maybe we can walk halfway?" She suggested, tilting the side of her head to see if I was listening.

"Sounds alright to me. Shall we?" I laughed nervously, leading the way with a gesture of my hands.

"As you wish." She laughed curtsing a bit before walking ahead of me with a light pep in her step.

A wave of determination came over me as I hurried over to be at her side. I would try to  
understand her a bit more before I let her go home. And there was no stopping me this time.


	5. Chapter 5

**~Ayuko's POV~**

"_Primrose, you sure you'll be fine? You had me worried that you were taken or something_." Grimmjow's worried voice echoed though the phone as I stood underneath a dew-filled olive tree.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Grimmjow. I forgot that... Daiya needed to go to the store first. And you never let me go out with her!" I lied terribly through the phone, my face burning like an oven set on fire.

_Come on Grimm... let me go please! _

He was quiet, probably debating on whether to let me go or now. H_e _knew Dais' would keep me safe, and would probably sacrifice her life for me... Well, I think it would be vice-versus but you know. It could happen.

"_Hmph...I don't see why not. Be home soon okay_?" Grimmjow finally replied three minutes later with his usual grunt of approval.

"Oh thank you so much! I won't be home till around sixish okay?"

"_Fine. I'll let Ulquiorra know. You owe me_."

"Alright, love you Grimmjow. Bye-bye." I giggled and shivered at the same time, the worse lecture playing through my head from Ulquiorra.

"_Bye_." He chuckled at my voice, and then silence filled my ear drums without warning.

"Are we good?" Ichigo questioned me, his voice shaking slightly as a chilly breeze blew past us for the third time.

I twirled around, and saw him shivering in the cold like any normal human. I felt bad, especially since I was doing just fine despite being in a light sweater and scarf.

"Yeah, sorry. My _"brother"_ is very overprotective of me... you feeling alright?"

"N-never b-better." Ichigo laughed weakly as he shook his head of light rain that started to fall.

"Oh no! Come on Ichigo, this way!" I laughed childishly, grabbing his warm hands and leading him out of the rainfall.

He gripped my hand tighter and closely walked/ran behind me while laughing. I was able to direct him to his little cafe, where a very good friend of mine worked part-time. After managing to get a booth with heat near it, my friend just happened to walk by us.

"Prim! Oh how nice to see you!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down in her little winter uniform.

"Nel! Nice to see you too. Aren't you even cold just a little?" I laughed at her, who started pouting and covered her chest with her serving tray.

"Man, when Grimm's not near you, you're so mean to me!" Nel cried behind her tray, but then perked up when she finally noticed a blushing Ichigo.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were with someone." She giggled, winking at me with her devilish green eyes.

"Be quiet, this is my friend Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo, this is Nelliel, she's my... cousin."

Ichigo turned to me, and then back to Nel with a warm smile on his face. He chuckled a bit before speaking to either Nel or me. A flush of pink gre on Nel's face as she realized how good-looking Ichigo really was. I bit my lip, especially hard so my laughter wouldn't escape my lips.

"Hi, it's nice meeting you. I've never been here, but this place seems really nice."

"Oh, you're a newbie? Well, welcome to the _Little Birdie Cafe_. Prim, you want your usual?"

"Yeah, that would be nice." I shivered as my human blood started to make my body cold for once.

"I would like whatever she's having."

Nel stopped writing, and looked suspiciously to Ichigo, who blankly started thumping at the table. A grin appeared on her face, and she started making lovey-dovy faces at me.

"Um... you sure you want what I'm getting?" I asked Ichigo, looking up to him as he slowly put an arm around my shoulders to give me a little warmth.

"Yeah, surprise me." Ichigo said innocently, not knowing what sweet monster laid ahead of him.

"Add two glasses of water please." I coughed under my breath as Ichigo went back to thumping a rhythm against the table.

"No problemo sweetie. I'll be right back, it was nice meeting you Kurosaki." Nel said, and with her mandatory bow, left in a quick sweep.

"She was nice, is she like a close cousin?"

"Hm? Kinda, she's my cousin by marriage, but no one wants to say that over and over. So she's just cousin."

"Oh nice, do you have any siblings Ayuko?"

"Me? Yeah... just a brother."

"Not the one you were talking to earlier was it?" Ichigo demanded right off the bat, leaning in a bit towards my face.

"Uwah um... no. My real older brother is currently with my father, his name is Able." I blushed out, Ichigo's face coming closer and closer until he relaxed a bit.

_What's going on? _I felt myself wonder, _Are we playing twenty questions here or what?_

"Oh, sorry, I was just curious."

"Ne, do you have siblings?"

"Yeah, two younger sisters. They're twins actually... Karin and Yuzu."

"Oh! Lucky, I've always wanted a younger sister. Maybe that's why I became friends with Daiya." I joked, my face burning at how stupid that joke actually sounded.

But he was really nice about it, and laughed along with me. We just ended up talking about the dumbest things while Nel took her sweet time with out sweet drinks. At some point, we stopped talking and sat comfortably in the silence together. It almost felt like a date, except I was starting to fall asleep a bit. My eyes started drooping and my head felt heavier than normal.

"Hey Ayu."

"Yesh?" I yawned softly, stopping mysely from falling into the crook of Ichigo's arm and neck. He seemed unphased at how close I was from actually falling into his arms.

"Um... why did you call me-"

"ORDER UP!" Nel nearly screamed as she appeared out of nowhere with our still steaming cups of... hot chocolate.

Ichigo's jaw dropped all the way to the floor as Nel set down two cups, the sides covered with sticky choco-syrup. A minute later, she set down two large glasses of water, and winked to me devilishly. I felt myself groan out, but he didn't seem to hear me... make that the entire world.

"Enjoy, let me know if there is anything else you need." Nel laughed as Ichigo's face was stuck in the surprise mode.

"Thanks... we will." I sighed heavily, my body resisting the urge to hide underneath the table.

"Wow... so much chocolate in one cup..." Ichigo said with a tone of disgust threatning to escape his lips at any moment.

"Um... I'm a sweets person in case you haven't noticed." I looked away, using my hand to hide my entire face from those piercing brown eyes of his.

I knew it was a bad idea letting him have what I liked. I hated bitter things like coffee the most, no matter how much sugar you put into it. And Ichigo did not look like the sweet-type of person at all. In fact, he seemed like a manly-meat type of person like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. Not good. Not good at all.

"Erm.. you know I can order you something-" But my sentence was cut off as Ichigo tried downing the drink in one gulp.

"Ah, Ichigo you idiot!" I gasped as he grew this pained look and grasped his chest unexpectedly.

"Uwah, too sweet!" He gasped, and nearly knocked over the glass of water as he desperately reached for it.

"Calm yourself boy!" I giggled, taking the cup away from him before he knocked that over as well.

I carefully handed him the glass, and he nodded a quick nod of thanks. Two huge gulps of water later, Ichigo returned to normal, but even so, he had the taste still in his mouth probably. Those chocolate eyes matched the syrup that was dripping down his lips onto his sweet looking... collar. That... collar.

_Oh no... I'm getting hungry..._

"Um... that was sweet." He laughed sheepishly, wipping the choco-syrup off his lips and onto the napkin.

"Yeah... sorry I didn't warn you." I sighed, spooning in a mouthful of the melting whip cream with a small smile on my face.

As soon as it touched my tounge, all my tastebuds exploded in sheer giddiness I thought I was gonna scream in joy. Savoring the chocolate, I started drinking my drink and finally, licked my lips in sastifaction. I leaned in unconciously into his arm, and snuggled into the crook. Feeling a warm body, I looked back up and quickly sat back up and shook myself until I felt normal.

"Whoa..." Ichigo whistled at me, making my blush profusly as usual.

What was going on with me today? I wasn't acting like my usual self, and it kinda weirded me out. **A LOT.** But it seemed so much fun with this guy, he made me laugh and really took the time to understand me unlike the others at school. I wanted to walk out right now, but a large hand pulled me back into Ichi's chest and kept me there. Looking up from his shoulder, I saw Ichigo looking off into the distance, totally ignoring the fact he was pratically hugging me without realizing it.

"Well are we all...set...here?" Nel's voice faltered as she came into view of my little hugging episode.

Our eyes caught, and I motioned that she shouldn't ask him, but she didn't listen. In fact, she started laughing uncontrollably for a full three minutes until she finally gave us our check.

"I'm sorry, here you guys go. Have a nice day-ah-ha-ha!" She laughed again, swaying side-to-side as she retreated back into the kitchen.

"Sorry... force of habit." Ichigo chuckled sheepishly as he released me from his warm body and chest.

"S'okay." I blushed, getting up a little too quickly and nearly falling back into my seat.

"Ayu!" Ichigo gasped, scooting over just in time to catch me in his arms and hold me in his lap.

"Argh, sorry." I laughed, turning my head to see his face up close and personal to me unexpectedly.

We sat there for a minute, his arms not unwrapping themselves from my body. My hand just awkwardly hung behind his head, my fingers just inches from touching his thick head of bright hair. If I had wanted to, I could've pulled his head towards me or something like that... and vice-versus. His eyes slowly dropped a bit before he leaned a little towards me, and instinctively, I felt myself do the same thing.

"Oh, I forgot these...mints." I heard Nel cut herself off as she came across our little seating arrangements.

"I... will... go now, bye!" She laughed, running away after throwing peppermints onto our tables with great percision.

"Awugh." Ichigo and I both said, laughing at the exact same time as well, making it even more awkward between us.

_Oh great Prim... you really know how to handle boys don't you?_

* * *

"I am so sorry about today." I gushed out as Ichigo and I walked in semi-silence to the street corner.

We paid, we laughed, but then there was this awkward silence between us. I couldn't quite understand why it was there, but it was beginning to bug me. And in all honesty, I didn't want it to be awkward, I **_wanted_** it to be good like it is between me and Daiya. I _**wanted**_ him to be my friend. I**_ wanted_** him to... be normal to me.

"No, it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry for embarrassing you like that. I know-"

"That I'm uncomfortable with people?" I questioned him, stopping my pace as the fear of tears threatened to come.

It took two seconds for Ichigo to realize I had stopped, a new record amongst my Daiya record. He looked down at me, but in a good way this time. A large, callused hand brushed my cheeks as a sign for me to look back up to him. He smirked a little as he gently brushed a strand of my hair out of my face.

"Well... basically yeah. I'm taking you out of your comfort zone, but you're letting me. You know that right?"

"Uh-huh. But I don't know why." I giggled softly, grabbing my hands as the awkwardly started thumping against my legs.

Out of nowhere, Ichigo's hands reached down and got a hold of my half-frozen palms. His fingers were so warm, and everything about him seemed... amazingly nice.

"Is it okay for me to bring you out like this?" He questioned me, his voice soft as people walked past us without a care in the world.

"If...if you think you can, I don't see why not. Plus... I'm having a lot of fun, really."

He grinned, a child-like grin that seemed foreign on his as he perked up. A nod from him was a sign that things turned back to our somewhat awkwardness. I couldn't help but smile back as he took my hand and started leading me away from the street corner.

"Ichigo! Where are you taking me?"

"A place where no one but myself knows."

Deciding to let him lead me, I closed my eyes and just felt the air blow past my hair and ears. I felt every twist and turn, but he was very careful with leading me. In my head, I wondered if he knew my eyes were closed, and wondered why he was going so far-

"We're here." He choked out, his hand tighting in my palm as I tried releasing myself from him.

Taking a deep breath in, I slowly opened my eyes to the most amazing sight in the entire universe. We were on a hill, not far from my house, but what we viewed was spectacular. Well... it was the sun, but with it being winter and all... the clouds made the sunset so magical-looking I couldn't help but choke on my breath.

"Wow... amazing."

A breeze blew past us, and sent a shiver down my spine. All this closeness with a boy like Ichigo made the human blood in me take over for once. Noticing me shiver, Ichigo came behind me and held me in his arms, warming me up with his already shaking body. I felt nervous, and a bright blush burned across my face in a flash. But he ignored that, and just held me there in the silence for a little while. My eyes closed as I felt myself meld with the natural curve of Ichigo's body, his intense grip on my arms...

"Prim!" I heard someone shout, but I didn't feel like answering them at first. I just wanted to stay in his arms, his human arms, and feel like a normal girl would have.

"Ayuko, it's Daiya." Ichigo said, releasing his grip on me and moving away from me abruptly.

"Awah?" I asked dazzily, spinning in a circle before Daiya appeared out of nowhere.

"Prim, there you are!" Daiya sighed as she ran up to both Ichigo and I.

"Grimmjow and Ulqiorra have been trying to call you! I had to look everywhere for you, luckily the old lady at the floral shop saw you go this way." She gasped, her usually bubbly face sewn with deep worry lines all over.

Ichigo sighed heavily, and patted the top of my head again as if it was normal. Daiya grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the only other person who made me comfortable.

"Ah, bye Ichigo! Maybe we can do this... again?" I mumbled loudly, just barley high enough for him to hear me.

Daiya stopped and allowed me to look over my shoulder to Ichigo. He stood there dumbfoundely for a moment, letting the words sink into him. But then he smirked a bit, and nodded without saying a word. Letting another minute go by, Dai tugged at my arm and looked at me with her worried eyes. Giggling, I let her pull me away, but I took the time to look back at Ichigo one more time. Luckily, he glanced up just as I looked back to him for a mere second.

During that one second, he and I both knew that today was just the beginning of a... new friendship.

* * *

**Well, here you guys go :3  
I hope you enjoyed this, and don't be shy to review. I'll be waiting!**


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